Boston Bombing: In Times of Crisis

Prayers for the people of Boston and for all of us… Having lived for a time in the Middle East, I have passing familiarity with the impact that this behavior has on a nation and its citizens. The impact is chilling and brutalizing. We will need to look deep within ourselves to listen for the still small voice that is the word of God to us in difficult times. God give us grace, courage, and compassion in a balance that is forever at risk in this environment.

Pause.

Find moments of silence.

Look deep within.

Listen for the strong, adequate voice of God.

Live courageously in spite of fear.

Shun panic.

Live in freedom.

Resolve to temper the search for justice and safety with a quest for the truth.

Comfort the injured and those who grieve.

Gracious Lord, you are the lover of souls and in times of crisis, we are often overwhelmed by fear. Embrace those who have died. Comfort those who grieve. Sustain those who care for them and protect them. Keep us from blind vengeance that deepens the spiral of violence. Give us courage to search for justice tempered by truth. Encourage us as the children of God, teaching us to live in light, in freedom, in firm resolve, and in all things teach us to live as yours in both life and in death. In the name of the One who lived as yours in the shadow of the cross. Amen.

The Reverend Dr. Frederick W. Schmidt, Jr. holds the Rueben P. Job Chair in Spiritual Formation at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL, and directs the Rueben Job Institute for Spiritual Formation. He is an Episcopal Priest, spiritual director, retreat facilitator, conference leader, writer, and consulting editor at Church Publishing in New York. He is the author of numerous published articles and reviews, as well as several books: A Still Small Voice: Women, Ordination and the Church (Syracuse University Press, 1998), The Changing Face of God (Morehouse, 2000), When Suffering Persists (Morehouse, 2001), in Italian translation: Sofferenza, All ricerca di una riposta (Torino: Claudiana, 2004), What God Wants for Your Life ﻿(Harper, 2005), Conversations with Scripture: Revelation (Morehouse, 2005), ﻿Conversations with Scripture: Luke ﻿(Morehouse, 2009), and The Dave Test (Abingdon, 2013). He and his wife, Natalie (who is also an academic and an Episcopal priest), live in Highland Park, Illinois, with their Gordon Setter, Hilda of Whitby. They have four children and four grandchildren: Henry, Addie, Heidi, and Sophie.